Today, March 11th, marks the two year anniversary of Japan earthquake & Tsunami. I thought I could watch any documentary or big news coverage or something, but disappointedly I haven’t seen anything substantial, other than 1-2 minute coverage of the memorial ceremony.

I thought I might have missed something and checked today’s TV guide, but there is no listing on main TV channels (BBC1,2,3,4, ITV, Channel 4, Five). Even on Panorama or Dispatches, both current affairs documentary programs aired today, they talk about “America’s Gun Addiction” and “Undercover Designer Dogs”. I have been watching BBC news 24 for over an hour now but zero coverage.

So I quickly checked the newspaper website, to see if the newspapers deal with the issue. BBC news ‘world’ section, the Times, the Independent don’t talk about it at all on the first page which is the most important page of the web.

ガーディアン紙は、中心の「Top stories」にはないが、左上の「Latest（最新）」欄に記事あり。

Not on the ‘Top stories’, but the guardian mentions it on the top of the ‘Latest’ section on the left.

It is not only UK, but also in other countries, too. I checked the Google News site of several major countries, but the result was more or less the same. On UK edition (below top), the news is not one of the most read topics, neither on US, Canada, Germany, and France edition. But surprisingly ‘Fukushima’ is the most read news on Italian edition (below second), and 6th on Spanish edition (below second), for some strange reason.

UK media has been talking about 9/11 every year since 2001 and 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami for several years, so I had some hope to see some coverage about Japan Tsunami as well. But sadly it was very little, and they seems to have forgotten (or downplay, according to M) about the Tsunami and earthquakes that killed over 20,000 people. What a difference from the huge media coverage when it happened. Still over 300,000 people are living in the temporary housing, including the evacuees from the vicinity of Fukushima nuclear power plants, and the large part of the areas affected have barely recovered and still long way to go back to normal. Radiation is still leaking from the nuclear power plants and is causing fear among many people. I don’t think the world should care about this incident only, but they can remember a bit of it, at least on the day of anniversary…

I got an e-mail from Mr Shibaoka, an art director from Tokyo who started “Lots of Heart Project” to say thank you for lots of support from around the world for the disastrous Tohoku earthquake and Tsunami hit north-east Japan on March 11, 2011 – with power of design. This is a poster he designed in seven different languages, with lots of hearts that express many ‘love’ that has been sent to Japan from people around the world.

On behalf of the project and people in Japan, “Thank you, from Japan to the world!”

Japan earthquake and Tsunami marks one year anniversary today. However, recovery of the affect area of Tohoku is far from completed. Only 6% of 2.25 million tons of debris has removed (because other areas of Japan are reluctant to accept them), and tens of thousands of people still live in tiny temporary housing with uncertainty. Unemployment is high, as many industry were destroyed and haven’t been reconstructed or some may never be. The worst must be the areas near Fukushima nuclear plant, which is still releasing radiation, and people have to live with fear everyday, especially families with small children. People have very little hope to come back to their houses in evacuated area in their life time. Farmland is contaminated, and farming, which is an important industry in rural Fukushima, has been devastated. Still it is said that amazingly many British are pro-nuclear even after Fukushima (see Huffington Post)! There is little risk of earthquake or Tsunami in UK and nuclear maybe cheap and clean, but accident can happen, and once it occurs, there is nothing you can do about it. The area will be ruined and will remain inhabitable and non-cultivatable for long time. I’ve never thought that something terrible would happen to any nuclear power plants in Japan, but it happened for real!

People in Tohoku try their best to get their life back and to rebuid their town with determination, but there is a limitation that each individual can do. But the government can’t show us strong leadership in the past year, and Japanese people don’t have much faith in what the authority say & do any more. Prime minister Noda has to learn a lesson from David Cameron – his determination to fix the country’s finance, even making people (=unions) outraged.

I don’t see much hope in current situation in Japan, due to impotent government and bad economic circumstances, but it is encouraging to see continuous financial and psychological support to Tohoku in Japan and from abroad. Though it will take very long, hope Japan will regain its strength in near future.

→Photo gallery of aftermath & now: Telegraph / BBC. All the debris cleared, but the land with so much empty space looks dreary…

<Related Event Information>

London’s Westfield Stratford City hosts “Tasting JAPAN WEEK” from March 14 – 18. The objective of the event is to express a gratitude for the support to Japan from abroad after the earthquake & Tsunami, but also to introduce Japanese food, culture, and fashion etc.

There will be a charity print sale/auction of photographs, “For Japan,” tomorrow between 6-8pm at Hotshoe Gallery in Farringdon, to raise funds for the long term reconstruction of the tsunami devastated north east region of Japan. The photographs, which evoke and celebrate Japanese culture, were submitted from all over the world, and selected 100 photographs have been on show from August 2 to 5. The proceeds will go directly to the Architecture for Humanity project office in Sendai.

Architecture for Humanity is a non profit organisation which offers building and design support in response to humanitarian and emergency needs. It is working in Sendai on a number of projects including an orphanage, an art and music therapy centre, an ‘urban acupuncture’ initiative to help get small businesses back on their feet to kick start economic recovery on a local level, a small scale fishing village reconstruction (rebuilding along the coastline is not included in the Japanese government’s 10 year plan).

Japanese Artist Jiro Osuga‘s exhibition “Tokyo” (– March 31) at the Flowers Galleries, located amongst dozens of Vietnamese restaurants on Kingsland Road, East London – his humorous paintings make all of us smile :-) The gallery also hosts “FLOWERS RUN FOR JAPAN” via JustGiving.

10 days after the Japan Earthquake & Tsunami, now Libya takes over media attention, as UK is a core member of the coalition force. I am not a pacifist, but after seeing the catastrophe caused by mother nature, I feel it is ridiculous and meaningless to destroy cities and kill someone with our own hands.

M told me that I don’t need to talk about the earthquake anymore, but the recovery effort is just started and still many evacuees are forced to live in gymnasiums, city halls and schools with insufficient help. I don’t know if Fukushima nuclear power stations will be restored, or if they can, when it will be. Therefore, please bare with me for a little bit more, though I have many topics that I want to talk about on my blog. I am sorry for some readers looking for information about London.

Today I found a video “Pray for Japan”, music by Michiru and illustration by Kaori Onishi. Watching many video messages to encourage Japan from the world cheers me up!